Friday, December 30, 2011

Unfortunately, the Bulls pulled away in the fourth quarter of Friday night's game to hand the Clippers their second (straight) loss of the season.

Despite three quarters of highly animated play from both teams, the Clippers reverted back to old, poor form in the fourth quarter—missing shot after shot and after shot, not getting to the rim or the line, and allowing the Bulls to outscore them (overall) 29-12 with a stopped clock.

Now, on the positive side, missing Billups (sore groin...um), DeAndre (only playing 26 minutes due to early foul trouble—when he will stop making horrible, stupid fouls like a high school player?), Bledsoe, and being forced to have Brian Cook in the rotation, it seems like these early season woes aren't too much to worry about. With the team's second highest scorer back on the floor (Billups) and Jordan keeping out of foul trouble, the Clippers truly do look like serious contenders against these marquee, gelled teams.

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Preseason games showed glimpses of it. The first half of the season opener showed even more glimpses of it. By the second game of the season, glimpses had turned into a stark reality, as the San Antonio Spurs manhandled the Clippers in a 110-95 loss for the residents of Lob City.

First and foremost, the Spurs nearly outplayed the Clippers in every area:

As the self-deprecating Clipper fans that we are, we decided to take a look at all of the players we COULD have had in the 2005 NBA Draft... Instead of Yaroslav Korolev.

Do we blame Elgin Baylor or Mike Dunlevey for this pick? Some people gave the hall-of-famer the blame since he was the GM at the time of draft, however, as Dunlevey took over Baylors duties officially in the next year, it looked like he was calling the shots. He drafted the Eurpean version of his son. If Mike Dunlevery Jr. couldn't shoot and weighed 50 pounds less you would have Yaroslav Korolev. Since, the Clippers released him in 2008, Yaroslav Korolev hasn’t been on an NBA roster. Here are SOME of the NBA quality players (with where they were drafted in parenthesis) that the Clippers could have had instead of the undeveloped project Mike Dunlevey could never develop.

10. Nate Robinson (21) - Has bounced around but contributed to a few playoff teams.

9. Hakim Warrick (19) - Has had a steady career in Memphis as a backup versatile big man.

8. Jason Maxiel (26) - A defensive presence and starter at times for the Pistons.

2. David Lee (30) - Signed a max contract last offseason with the Warriors.

1. Danny Granger (17) - This all star, USA player, and Pacer would have addressed the Clippers need for a small forward during this draft. Instead of taking the player NBA writers picked for the Clippers in mock drafts that year, they took Korolev.

Despite the overwhelming win for the Clippers on opening night, the Christmas day game in Oakland did show a number of kinks that the team is still trying to work out. To open the game, the team showed little to no energy, essentially starting with a flat offense that didn’t have any of the pre-season flow until the fourth quarter. At one point, the team had missed 13 straight field goals, and was losing to the Warriors at halftime, 43-41. DeAndre Jordan was exposed on national television as a player to put on the foul line, going 4-12 from the charity stripe and having to be yanked by Coach Vinny Del Negro because, sadly, he’s a liability to the team in a close game. The Clippers also were out rebounded throughout the game. First-year coach Mark Jackson did a great job with his defensive scheme on Blake Griffin, making him labor for his 22 points. Chauncey Billups couldn’t buy an outside shot early and Chris Paul started the game 1-6.Sounds like a lot of off-putting factors during the first game. However, with all these seemingly fatal flaws, the Clippers came out in the third quarter and dominated (34-25), something they failed to do last season. In the third and fourth quarters, the shots began to fall, the rebounds were grabbed, and the fast-breaks started. In short, the Clippers won the game because they have more talent (CP3 to close out the game certainly helped) and are simply a better team, which is something I’m going to have to get use to saying this season.

Monday, December 26, 2011

Staff writer Adam Levine gives us a quick update on what former Clippers are up to around the league...

Darius, not exactly killin' it.

Darius Miles (Clippers, 2000-2002) was the closest thing to the Blake Show the Clippers have ever experienced. Injuries forced the former high flier out of the league, and Miles was later arrested after guards found him trying to take a loaded gun through security at Lambert Airport in St. Louis. He was released on bail and is currently not playing any ball. Talk about your classic Clippers curse.

Keyon Dooling (Clippers, 2000-2004) signed with the Boston Celtics this summer. With serious knee injuries, Dooling won’t provide the team the youth and athleticism he showed while playing with the Clippers, but he will provide them with quality backup minutes. Dooling has averaged over 7 points and 3 assists in less than 20 minutes throughout his career.

Bench:
Darius Miles & Quentin Richardson - Just because of their charming chemistry.
Shaun Livingston - He's just so loveable/adorable.
Deandre Jordan - C'mon. You're telling me if you were a chick, he wouldn't melt you?

Honorable Mentions
Mo Williams - He's like a cute little kid. Gotta love him.
Marc Jackson - Not a total stunner, but his best looking days were in a Clipps uniform.
Lamar Odom - Lamaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

Sunday, December 25, 2011

The Clippers come out looking strong on Christmas night with a 105-86 win in their season opener. CP racked up 20 points and 9 assists, while Blake added 22 points and 7 boards. The biggest spark on the court was Deandre's tenacious defense, knocking away 8 (probably more) of the Warriors shot attempts.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Staff writer Alexander Dardick analyzes the threats the Clippers face in the Western Conference.

The Clippers’ goal this year should be no less than home-court advantage in the first round (which, at the very least, would be securing at least the fourth seed by the end of the regular season). And although the team has certainly set its sights on a formidable playoff run, there are plenty of other teams who are seriously contending for one of those four spots. Here’s a breakdown of the Clippers’ biggest threats:Portland Trail BlazersThe Blazers are a very intriguing team. Their under-the-radar beginning to this season is a stark contrast to the beginning of last year’s playoffs, when they were widely viewed as one of the league’s hottest teams.

While there have been some changes to the roster since then, the negative impact of those moves may not be as bad as might seem. Brandon Roy’s role had been dwindling and dwindling for awhile, and his permanent departure from the team will probably not make that much of a difference to the team on an game-to-game basis. Rudy Fernandez, who is also not on the team any longer, is a crowd favorite, but his contributions can be replicated. Raymond Felton, a new addition to the team, has several deficiencies, but he can be capable enough to be a solid complement to the rest of the talented players on the squad. Plus, while Andre Miller (who the Blazers swapped for Felton) can play well at times, no one has ever accused him of being a fun guy to be around, and nor is he any sort of emotional leader. And, with another new addition: we all know what the Rhino, Craig Smith, can do. (And let’s have a moment of silence—and maybe the Clippers can get a black band on their jerseys to remember him…thank you.)What the Blazers now feature is a very strong and unique wing rotation consisting of Wesley Matthews, Gerald Wallace, Nicolas Batum, and Jamal Crawford. This combination gives the Blazers everything, whether it be scoring, intensity, or hard defense. Then you move on to LaMarcus Aldridge, a fringe all-star who was controversially left off the team last year. All he did last season was take a giant step towards becoming one of the most effective low-post players on offense. Behind him is Marcus Camby, and – assuming Marcus still has just a little left – we all know what Marcus can do for a team. Furthermore, Nate McMillan is undeniably one of the best coaches in basketball. I’m not saying the Blazers should be picked to finish first in the West, I’m merely saying they have a lot of talent and are maybe being overlooked more than they should be. And they certainly have the ability to challenge the Clipps for a spot in the top four by season’s end.

The Clippers have signed 6’8 forward Reggie Evans for the league-determined veteran minimum ($1,272,279, as determined by his 9 years of play). In 30 games last season, Evans averaged 11.5 rebounds. The Iowa alum and 9-year veteran will add much-needed frontcourt depth off the bench to the team. Hopefully he will also become the player the Clippers need to protect Blake Griffin from getting unnecessarily hard fouls. Clippers fans may remember Evans from grabbing Chris Kaman’s “private area.” By signing Reggie Evans, the Clippers may be sending a message to the league: “if you mess with Blake, you may get Reggied.”

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

The Clippers have never had an opening day lineup that didn’t warrant some of those obligatory, self-deprecating jokes that are more a means of coping with the prospects of another losing season than any true light-heartedness. It goes without saying that for the past decade (and the decades preceding my years as a Clippers season ticket holder), the ride home from every preseason scrimmage was, “At least the Clippers posted a victory today.” Ha. But jokes aside, and no matter how awful the team may look, Clippers scrimmage has always meant that basketball season was upon us.

At this year’s Clippers scrimmage, there was a different tone, a rare optimism floating through the air, as if the recent addition of Chris Paul and Blake’s subsequent coinage of Lob City (if you haven’t seen it yet, check the link we posted previously) were poised to bring the hope that the 2008 and election of B.H. Obama, sadly, did not deliver. Scrimmage jokes weren’t easing the pain of another losing year, but instead directed at the Lakers’ dismal off season, the Clipper dunks that were sure to demoralize other teams and make Sportscenter’s Top 10 every night, and how our tickets are finally worth as much or more than what we paid for them.